HEAD COACH CASEY DUNN

Under his leadership, the Bulldogs have posted 30-plus wins in nine of the last 11 seasons. The team has also played in the Southern Conference Tournament title game in four of the last six years.

In 2012, Dunn coached the Bulldogs to their first SoCon championship and NCAA Tournament bid. The team also set a school record for wins with 41.

Also in 2012, Dunn’s squad produced a school-record seven Major League Baseball Draft picks, and finished with nine players signing with MLB teams. Last year, in 2016, Samford’s Heath Quinn (third round, San Francisco Giants), Alex Lee (22nd round, Atlanta Braves) and Hunter Swilling (29th round, Detroit Tigers) were all selected in the Major League Draft after the Bulldogs made another deep run in the SoCon Tournament. Additionally, All-SoCon pitcher Parker Curry signed a free-agent deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 2015, Samford reached the finals of the SoCon Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years, narrowly falling to Mercer, 2-0.

Prior to the start of the 2013 season, Dunn was named one of the top rising head coaches by Perfect Game, and he was ranked second on Baseball America’s list of top college baseball head coaches under 40.

At the conclusion of the 2013 season, Dunn’s team produced the first player in school history to be drafted in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft when center fielder Phillip Ervin was selected by the Cincinnati Reds. Also, pitcher and designated hitter C.K. Irby was taken in the 10th round of the MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins.
13975 Under Dunn's leadership, the Bulldogs have posted 30-plus wins
in nine of the last 11 seasons.

In 2011, the Bulldogs finished third in the prestigious SoCon and reached the finals of the SoCon Tournament, finishing one win short of the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The team won a then school-record 37 games in 2011.

Dunn’s 2011 team featured four players selected in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. Pitchers Grant Sides, Andrew Jones and Josh Martin, along with second baseman Michael Johnson were all taken in the MLB Draft.

Additionally, five Bulldogs were named to the Coaches’ All-SoCon team in 2011 and the pitching staff set school records for lowest ERA, fewest runs allowed, fewest earned runs allowed and most strikeouts, while tying the school record for most saves.

Dunn proved to be the youngest DI head coach in the country when he was hired in 2004.

In just his second season as head coach, Dunn took the baseball team from not qualifying for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament to being the league’s regular-season champion and the top seed in the league’s postseason tournament. The team won a then school-record 34 games and Dunn was named the OVC’s Coach of the Year.

Dunn followed up the success of 2006 with a second straight winning season in 2007; marking the first time Samford posted back-to-back winning seasons in more than 40 years.

In 2008, the team finished second in the OVC in the regular season. Samford posted 33 wins, a total which ranked behind only Dunn’s 2011 and 2006 squads for wins in a single season.

Under Dunn’s leadership, the 2008 team also produced Samford’s highest draft pick when Michael Marseco was drafted in the 11th round of the Major League Baseball draft.

After his first season, Dunn and his staff signed the largest recruiting class in Samford baseball history: 20 players, including nine transfers. The class was ranked 69th in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Additionally, Samford was ranked 29th among teams in the Southeast, third in Alabama and first in the OVC.

Dunn and his staff have continued to recruit successfully. Many of its signing classes have been ranked nationally.

Dunn, who was an assistant coach at Auburn University from mid-July 2004 until he was hired at Samford, started the baseball program at Spain Park High School in Birmingham, Ala. In three years at Spain Park, he posted a record of 53-41. His teams won two Jefferson County titles and a co-region championship, as well as two state playoff appearances.

In 2002, Dunn was named the Over the Mountain Coach of the Year and was named Coach of the Year by The Birmingham News in 2003.

Dunn played four seasons as a catcher at Auburn (1996-99). As a senior, he earned All-America honors after batting .379 with a Southeastern Conference-leading 86 RBI. He helped lead the Tigers to a 1999 NCAA Regional Championship, the 1998 SEC Tournament title and a 1997 College World Series appearance.

Dunn finished his Auburn career ranked in the top five in several of the Tigers’ career records including hits (third, 307), RBI (third, 232), total bases (third, 470), at-bats (third, 905), games played (fifth, 231) and extra-base hits (fifth, 95).

At the end of his senior season at Auburn, Dunn was presented with the Cliff Hare Award for the school’s top male athlete.

At the conclusion of his collegiate playing career, Dunn played two seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization. He played with minor league teams in Wilmington, N.C., and Spokane, Wash.

Dunn played for his father and legendary high school coach, Sammy Dunn, at Vestavia High School throughout his prep career. His team won state titles in 1994, 1995 and 1996. VHS finished 26-6, 32-4 and 31-6 in his last three years of high school and the Rebels compiled a perfect 21-0 record in playoff games.

In the 1995 quarterfinals, Dunn led Vestavia High School back from a 7-2 deficit to win 11-7 over Decatur in 10 innings, in a thrilling game that set the stage for the Alabama state title.

Dunn graduated from Auburn in 1999 with a degree in social science secondary education. He is married to the former Marty Goldthorp and the couple has a son, Sam, 13, and a daughter, Linlee, 11.